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TOPEKA, Kan. - After getting out a strong 18-8 start in the first six-plus minutes of play, #21 Concordia-St. Paul (23-7) was unable to sustain the momentum as #24 Augustana (25-6) responded with a 17-0 run and never looked back. Concordia fell 78-66 to the Vikings to end its season in the 2013 NCAA Central Region Tournament quarterfinals at Lee Arena on the campus of Washburn University.

The Golden Bears came into the tournament with the third seed after winning the NSIC Regular Season Overall and South Division Championships while the Vikings were the sixth seed after winning the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament Championship. It was Augustana that snapped Concordia's 15-game winning streak in the conference tournament semifinals, and now the Vikings hand a second-straight loss to end the Golden Bears' remarkable season.

Concordia's hot 18-8 start was keyed by a pair of three-pointers from Carissa Wolyniec (Minneapolis) and four points each on the inside from Anika Whiting (Ashland, Wis.) and Kionda Nicks (St. Paul, Minn.). Nicks also had two early blocked shots in building the early advantage.

Head coach Paul Fessler commented in his post game press conference, "We got off to a good start, and I was pleased with how we came out. We got hurt when we had to take Anika out of the game with two offensive fouls. I thought Augustana did a great job and I was impressed with their patience. They shot better than they have in the past against us - Augustana is flat-out the best team in the league. They are putting it all together right now and I don't know if I'd want to play them tomorrow."

After Concordia's strong start, Augustana responded by outscoring the Golden Bears 28-8 over the final 13:15 of the half including the 17-0 run which spanned 5:39 of play. Whiting's second foul was called with 8:47 left in the half with Concordia leading 22-17 at the time.

Nicks finished with 12 points, six rebounds and three blocks on 6-of-11 shooting. Whiting led Concordia with 15 points on 6-12 shooting and added four rebounds (all offensive). Wolyniec would hit 3-of-6 from three-point range and finish with nine points.

But even with Nicks and Whiting producing solid statistical performances, the Vikings used a decisive advantage in second chance scoring and rebounding to run away with the contest. Augustana out-rebounded Concordia 40-25 including an 18-9 mark on the offensive glass which led to a 25-10 edge in second chance points.

Although Whiting played 32 minutes and Nicks played 28, both players went through extended stretches on the bench due to foul trouble.

Meanwhile, Augustana countered with Alex Feeney scoring a game-high 20 points with seven rebounds from the post, shooting 9-of-16 from the floor. Andrea Whitney had 10 rebounds (four offensive) with six points off the bench and Faith Tinklenberg had five offensive rebounds (seven total) while scoring 11 points.

While the final outcome could be partially attributed to second chance points for the Vikings, it was the first half aggressive defense that forced 15 Golden Bear turnovers which allowed Augie to take the large lead. Concordia committed 11 of those 15 turnovers during the final 13:15 of the half, shooting just 2-of-13 from the floor against Augustana's aggressive defense in the process. They went the final 10:28 of the half without a field goal as well.

Fessler added, "They were so balanced on defense we couldn't really find an opening to create because of their quickness and they shut us down. On offense, they did a good job of pushing the tempo and even though they didn't have a lot of fastbreak points, they got us on our heels defensively."

It was the Viking backcourt that did the initial damage, according to senior Mandy Poke (Richfield, Minn.), "Their defense is always aggressive and today they pushed us guards out of our scoring range which was a positive for them. Offensively I think they had some guards step-up that we haven't seen step-up before and knock down some big shots and that was great for them. It wasn't just #12 (Emily Schulte) the whole game, we needed to have our eyes on everyone - they all came out to play."

Poke, Concordia's lone senior, finished the game with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting off the bench in 29 minutes.

In the second half, the Golden Bears attempted to whittle away the Augustana double-digit lead which was 10 at the break (36-26). Jasmine Haynes (Robbinsdale, Minn.) and Whiting had early layups in the second half that cut the deficit to eight points, and a Nicks jumper with 13:33 to play cut the margin to seven, 49-42.

But the offensive rebounding of Augustana thwarted any momentum the Golden Bears would try to gain.

After Concordia trimmed the lead to seven points, Augustana went on its second major run of the game, an 18-4 surge over a 6:23 stretch that put the Vikings ahead 71-49 with 5:50 to play.

The 22-point lead was the largest margin of the game as the Golden Bears finished the game strong, outscoring Augustana 15-5 in the game's last three minutes.

Concordia was aided by junior Rachel Hansen (Eagan, Minn.) with 12 points, six assists and four steals.

The Golden Bears shot a respectable 45.3% (24-53) in the loss, while Augustana hit 48.3% (29-60) from the floor. When the totals were compiled, the Golden Bear defense actually forced more turnovers (19) than Augustana (18) as Concordia committed only three second half turnovers.

The Golden Bears finish the season with a 23-7 record which marks a 12-win turnaround from the 2011-12 season and only have one senior on the squad, Poke.

Fessler noted the dynamic, "We are excited about next year but I think some people overestimate the future because you never know what it holds. This year was amazing, because we had two players out with ACL's that weren't able to help us and they were expected to be in the rotation. Next year who knows what will happen and how the team will look. On paper, we look outstanding, but you never know what the next year contains. Do I like the future of our program? Absolutely. Will we miss Mandy? Yes, she has the best voice on the team - the loudest."

He continued, "The future looks bright and I'm really proud of this team. Last year, we were an irrelevant program. Well, we made ourselves relevant again this year and it's something for them to be proud of - this is a good memory this year."